


The Difference Between Winning and Losing

by CawCawMF



Category: Thor - All Media Types
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-09
Updated: 2013-12-09
Packaged: 2018-01-04 03:31:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,847
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1076017
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CawCawMF/pseuds/CawCawMF
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>AU. Jane just can't stop setting Darcy up on blind dates...</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Difference Between Winning and Losing

The car door slammed harder than she intended, and Darcy winced slightly. She could just hear her mother scolding her in her head, and she smirked. She was finally moving into her first apartment. No more dorm life for her. Darcy and her best friend, Jane, had worked all summer to save enough for a down payment on a nice place close to campus. They still had two years, but hopefully college life would be easier now they had some more freedom.

            “Darcy!” She turned at Jane’s voice and saw her petite friend dragging a rather large tote across the parking lot. Loyally following behind her was her long-time boyfriend, Thor. He was tall, buff, blonde, sweet as pie and cute as a button. Darcy would be jealous if he was anywhere near her type. And also if he wasn’t like her brother.

            “Jane, hey. Can you believe it? We’re finally doing it,” she said excitedly, jumping in place. Jane smiled at her warmly, handing the tote over to her boyfriend. Darcy dug through her purse for keys as they walked through the hallway, finding them just when they arrived at 14B. The three of them made quick work of moving in the various items from the U-haul parked outside. Luckily, they had managed to find a furnished apartment just in their price range, so they weren’t hauling anything too heavy.

            The apartment wasn’t huge by any means, but it was spacious. There were two bedrooms and two bathrooms down a hallway, a kitchen, a living room, and a small laundry room off the kitchen. Darcy was surprised they had managed to find such a great place at such a reasonable price. She was still waiting for the axe to drop. Maybe the place was haunted.

            “Thanks, Thor,” Darcy said as he stood at the threshold. She walked to the kitchen so he and Jane could have some privacy to say goodbye. A moment later, Jane joined her in the kitchen and they started putting dishes into cabinets.

            “I wish my mom could see this place,” Darcy said wistfully.

            “She would be so proud of you, Darcy. You know that,” Jane said.

            Darcy nodded. “Yeah, I guess.”

“So, we should definitely have a dinner night over here soon,” Jane said suddenly. Darcy’s brows furrowed, but she continued the motions of picking up a glass and placing it on a shelf.

“Oh yeah, because you’re definitely Martha Stewart over there,” Darcy said jokingly.

            Jane just rolled her eyes. “Anyway, I was thinking we should have a dinner. You, me, Thor…Thor’s brother, maybe. I was thinking we could make that teriyaki chicken-”

            “Whoa, backtrack there lady. Please tell me you are not trying to set me up _again._ And not with Thor’s brother. Actually, I didn’t even know he had a brother, but that’s not the point. Jane Foster, you are not setting me up on a date. Do you even remember what happened last time?”

            “It wasn’t that bad,” Jane interrupted, but Darcy just glared at her.

            “Do you want it chronologically or alphabetically? He was late, he smelled like cheese, he stared at my boobs the whole time, he ordered for me, and then he made me pay. Oh, and did I forget to mention that the waiter caught fire.”

            “The waiter incident wasn’t even related,” Jane said argumentatively.

            “It doesn’t matter. No blind dates. You are not setting me up with Thor’s brother or anyone else.” Darcy’s voice left no room for discussion. Jane’s face fell, but she nodded.

            “Okay, fine. I’ll drop it”

 

            The next week, however, it became apparent that Jane had not dropped it.

            “Darcy, please. Just one date. It would mean a lot to Thor. His brother just moved back to town and doesn’t know anyone,” Jane said pleadingly. This had been going on for about the entire week, and Darcy was sick of it.

            “Oh, no. You do not get to pull that card on me. Do not make this seem like a favor for Thor. That is not fair, and you know it. Besides, if his brother needs to make friends, I’m sure he can do it on his own. He’s a big boy. I told you I don’t want to go on anymore blind dates. In fact, I don’t want to date period for a while.”

            “But-” Jane was cut off as her phone buzzed. She checked it quickly, and then huffed in annoyance. “Well, it doesn’t matter anyway because his brother isn’t coming. So I’m dropping it for now, but don’t think this is over.”

 

            And it wasn’t.

            “It doesn’t even have to be a date. Just show him around town, you know. I really think the two of you would get along-”

            “I’ve heard that before,” Darcy interrupted, but Jane just continued and grabbed their coffees.

            “-and you could be good friends if you would just meet him. You actually have a lot in common. You like the same books, movies, shows. He’s kind of a geek, like you.”

            Darcy rounded on her then, stopping in place on the busy sidewalk. “First of all, stop trying to sell me the man like he’s on auction. Second, I’m proud to be a geek, so don’t you dare say that like it’s a bad thing.”

            “I just don’t understand why you won’t even meet him. You’ve said yourself that Thor is like your brother, and you won’t meet his actual sibling. You’re going to have to meet him eventually. It’s a small town, and Thor and I spend a lot of time together. It’s bound to happen, Darcy.”

            “I accept that challenge,” Darcy said, facing ahead and continuing toward campus.

            “What?” Jane asked.

            “I bet I can go a month without meeting him, even with your meddling.”

            “Darcy, that’s not what I meant,” Jane said defeated, already realizing her mistake. Darcy was, by far, the most stubborn person Jane had ever met.

            “If I lose, I’ll go on one date with the guy. If I win, you never try to set me up on a blind date again. Do we have a deal?” Darcy asked.

            “But-”

            “Do we have a deal, Jane?”

            “Fine,” Jane sighed.

 

            Darcy was bound and determined to win this bet. Mostly because she wanted to Jane to stop meddling in her life. Ever since Darcy’s mother had died three years ago, Jane had taken it upon herself to act as Darcy’s honorary mother figure. While Darcy appreciated the sentiment, she was an adult. She didn’t need Jane to tell her she needed to socialize, or relax, or stop working so hard. Okay, maybe she did need to do those things, but she didn’t need Jane to tell her. She could take care of herself, and she would prove it. To be honest, that was the only reason she had been so against meeting Thor’s brother in the first place. She doesn’t need to be coddled, and from what it sounds like, he doesn’t need to be either.

            The following weeks became a careful game of cat and mouse. Darcy became a recluse, staying in her room most of the time. She avoided any invitation made by Jane, even seemingly innocent ones.

            “Seriously, Darcy, I’m just asking you to go grocery shopping with me,” Jane said.

            “Until this month is up, I’m going to see every situation as a possible threat,” Darcy said, and Jane rolled her eyes before walking out the door.

            There were a few close calls. One night, Jane and Thor had come home, brother in tow. Luckily, Darcy had been in her bedroom. As soon as she heard the unfamiliar male voice coming from the living room, she crawled out her window and down the fire escape. Drastic? Maybe. Worth it? Definitely.

            She had made it nearly an entire month. There was only one day left, and it seemed that Jane had given up fighting. Darcy applauded herself as she went to sleep that night.

 

Darcy was woken up by the doorbell. Glancing at the clock, she wondered who would be here at eight on a Saturday.

            “Jane, door,” she said groggily, hoping her roommate would hear her through the walls. When the doorbell continued to ring, Darcy realized Jane stayed over at Thor’s the previous night. She pushed the covers down and hopped out of bed quickly, racing to the door.

            “Do you have any idea what time it is?” she said angrily, her voice trailing off as she caught sight of the man standing in her doorway. He was lean, with dark tousled hair and stunning green eyes. His face looked like chiseled marble and she…she was in her Avengers pajamas with her hair sticking all over the place. Nice one, Darcy.

            “I’m so sorry; I didn’t mean to wake you. I must have the wrong address. I’m looking for 14B,” the man said, his voice as delicious as she could have expected. She shook her head slightly, focusing on his words.

            “You found it. Who are you looking for?” she asked, and she was proud her voice came out steady. Obviously this man had the wrong address. He was probably looking for his model girlfriend somewhere, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t look.

“My brother, Thor. He asked me to pick him up at his girlfriend’s apartment. I must have written down the wrong number. She just moved in. Her name’s Jane, maybe you know which apartment is hers.”

Darcy groaned internally. So, this was the brother she had been avoiding for nearly a month. Jane was in big trouble when she got home. At least he was good looking. And polite.

“This one. I’m her roommate, and she’s not here. They’re at Thor’s place. At least they’re supposed to be,” Darcy said. She saw his face morph from confusion to anger, and she sympathized completely.

            “You’ve got to be kidding me. Why would he…you’re Jane’s best friend aren’t you? Not again,” he said frustrated. Darcy felt a rush of relief. She didn’t feel nearly as bad about avoiding him knowing he’d been doing the same.

            “Funny, I was thinking the same thing.”

            He looked at her surprised. “Jane does this to you as well?”

            Darcy let out an unattractive snort. “For the past few weeks, yeah. I’m willing to bet Jane came up with this idea. She’s the only one evil enough to wake me up at eight on a Saturday,” she said grumpily.

            He chuckled softly. “Sorry about that…”

            “Darcy,” she finished.

            “Darcy,” he said, her name sounding better in his voice. “I’m Loki, and I’ll let you get back to sleep now.” He backed away from the door, but Darcy found herself stopping him.

            “Wait. I’m about to make some of Jane’s special blend coffee if you want some,” she said, and she cringed at the hopeful tone in her voice. But he just smiled and walked back to the door.

            “That sounds nice.”

            As he walked into the apartment, Darcy thought it just might be okay to lose something this one time.


End file.
